Tag Archives: Family

Walk in the rain. Say “I love you”. Confront your fears. Take initiative. Compliment someone. Take advantage of the sun when it is out. Try a new ice cream flavour. Close your eyes, open a random page of a cookbook, and make that recipe TONIGHT. Take pictures. Shop at sales. Laugh. Play on a playground. Re-examine the influence the people in your life are having on you, then get rid of those who add negativity. Doodle. Wake up to see the sunrise. Stay out to see the sunset. Learn something new. Catch up with friends. See the good in people. Drink wine, or water, or whatever. Be artsy. Be nerdy. Wear glasses to make a fashion statement. Try a type of cuisine you are unfamiliar with. Make conversation with someone you don’t really like. In your mind only, curse the person who ruined your day. Vent. Go to the beach. Google random topics.Speak your mind. Try out a trend that never appealed to you before. Wear colour. Put on your highest heels just for the fun of it. Daydream. Read a trashy book. Be fearless. Watch an old classic movie. Drive without direction. Dance. Listen to music. Play a sport.Hug. Kiss. Appreciate your life, you only get one chance to.

I learned to deal with them. The good, the great, the bad, and the ugly. There are so many incidents in our life that defines who we are. Yes, it sounds lame, but acknowledging them is very valuable. So here is to:

That one tragic event that changed me for good. The day I know I’m over it, will the day I don’t remember the anniversary. Until then, I will continue to remember that one fateful day.

That humiliating rumor spread by some a$*hole in college. F$@k you, and all your accomplices. I want you to ask yourself today, was it really all worth it to you?

Not being treated the way we expected to be by the people who we know are our friends, but don’t always act like them. I realize now that I’m not always a friend. I do things to hurt people that I don’t always know. So, I suppose, I’m ok with the fact that I wasn’t invited to one or two parties.

My weight problem, my fear of pissing off my family, my need to be praised at work, my constant desire for attention. In short, my insecurities. They will be the one constant in my life, and if I can’t eliminate them completely, I will learn to live peacefully with them.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I there is so much more that makes me..well, me! It’s not important; I would probably spend days adding to this and I would lose everyones attention. One thing is true though – the both good and bad define us, and facing both is important. That said, I suggest forgetting about Oprah’s life classes and the doctors who recommend ways to improve your life in Cosmo – coming to terms with the bad in life is the best character builder.

Once again, I am a bit behind on the program, but I just finished reading “My Sister’s Keeper”. Similar to the last review I wrote on “Sing You Home”, I think it’s only fair to find the downside to this seemingly touching novel.

*Warning: this review contains spoilers. If you want to read the book or are currently doing so, do not continue reading. If you don’t care, then carry on.

Picoult addressed many important issues in this novel, such as family life, battling cancer, and being sued. There is no doubt that she researched oncology effectively, but how she rambled on and on using complex medical terms was ridiculous. At one point, I began to wonder if she even understood all that vocabulary herself. This is not the only unnecessary thing in this novel. Picoult added in so many characters, that made absolutely no difference to the story. Take Jesse, the brother as an example; he would have made a difference if his parents noticed him, but they didn’t! He was setting houses on fire, and they didn’t care as much as they should have. We know that Brian and Sara are pre-occupied with Kate’s illness, so please, give them one more child to ignore. Izzy, Julia’s sister, is another character who’s presence was completely irrelevant to the story. One would assume that she was only there to support Julia through her drama with Campbell, but their relationship drama should not deserve enough attention to add another character in for it.

Then to top it all off, she kills off Anna. If you read the interview at the end of the book, Picoult claims this was the only ending that made sense to the medical issue at hand. It might have made sense to her, but as a reader, I felt cheated. Anna went through all the trouble to sue her parents so she wouldn’t have to give her kidney to Kate, and in the end, Picoult kills her off and takes her kidney anyway. It would be disrespectful to force someone do a favor that major against their will when they are alive, but it is despicable to take something that they fought so hard to keep when they are dead. Honestly, between Picoult and Sara Fitzgerald (the mother), I’m not sure who’s a worse person.

While I thought that overall, “My Sister’s Keeper” was a heartwarming story, it could be cut in half and it would be exactly the same.

Everybody has charm – some just make it more obvious than others. Instead of writing a huge long paragraph, I’m going to take characters from well known TV shows and movies as examples; only because I think we have more in common with the actors who play them than meets the eye.

She’s sexy, she’s witty, and has a shoe collection to die for. Sarah Jessica Parker made her mark as TV icon’s Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City, and many people like her because she portrays living a life that is fairly ordinary. Putting aside the designer clothes and Manolo Blahniks, Carrie is a writer who lives in a small apartment in Manhattan. She’s not living in a penthouse on the upper east side, and shopping all day on Madison Avenue. Sure her writing career makes her more than the average person’s would, but at the end of the day she does her own cleaning and cooking (sorry, I meant ordering her own take out). SJP’s charm came from playing a fairly believable character. Have you ever noticed how people are naturally drawn to other’s if they are easy to get along with, and make an effort to blend in with everyone? That person, is the SJP in your life.

She’s one of my all time favorite actresses. Jennifer Aniston made Rachel Green so lovable, despite her self centered nature. People like this can be very charming, if you don’t take them seriously. You have to roll your eyes at their immature comments, and just remind yourself that they are amusing because of these traits. You wouldn’t love them any other way.

The bitch is back everyone! Kristin Cavallari has always been headstrong, and is never afraid to stand up for herself. We all know that person – the only difference is, in real life we don’t have producers to force us to be friends with the Kristins in our lives. These people are charming because they can be really nice, if they like you. If they don’t, well..good luck.

We all loved him on TV, but if Adam Brody acted like Seth Cohen in reality, nobody would talk to him. People like this are seriously misunderstood, because many of us are afraid to be different. Having said that, I honestly believe that everyone should make an attempt to have a Seth type nerd in their life, only because people like him are so honest and genuine. This kind of charm is rare, and seriously undervalued. Oh if only Seth Cohen were real, or at least still on the air….

And there you have it! Think about the people in your life, and try to find what traits make them charismatic – you will understand their characters much better. Good luck!

The title is pretty self explanatory, but there is this huge controversy in the UK about a father in law donating a sperm to his son and daughter in law to help them have a baby. One article about one family sparked interest in many people around the world, and they posted countless comments expressing their opinions and concerns.

The first question of course is about ethics. Now, what we have to keep in mind is that everybody’s ethics are different. Obviously to this couple, it is completely ethical to have a relative help them conceieve. I’m going to have to agree with the majority of the people though and say no, it is unethical and disturbing on so many levels. Why? Because if the parents choose to be honest with the child, he or she will grow up knowing that their grandfather is actually their dad, and their dad is actually their half brother. The poor child will be so confused and creeped out. Nobody deserves to grow up thinking this is normal! The alternative situation would be if the parents just didn’t tell the child anything, in which case they would be keeping a huge secret from this child. We all know that secrets have a way of coming out in the wash eventually; how will this child feel knowing that their parents have been lying to them?

Another couple in the Neatherlands pursued this way for conceiving, so it’s not like the case in the UK is the first one. There was even a grandmother who carried a baby for her daughter. So these cases are not unusual, but that does not mean that they are ethical. Science now has a ton of other ways for couples to have babies, so I understand when some ask why these couples cannot try these methods. Sure it’s a bit pricier and more of a hassle, but at least the child would have a normal life, and the parents will not have the burden of keeping this life changing secret.